There is Always Hope
by Panda-Boo17
Summary: When Merry is called to Rohan to serve guard duty, something happens along the way that he had not planned on...
1. Guard Duty

**PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE YOU READ THE STORY:**

I know that Merry was married to Estella in the book. In all my stories that I've written where Merry's wife is mentioned, it had not been Estella, it has been a character that I made up named Kira. If you'll read two of my other stories entitled, "The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Sword" and "The Lord of the Rings: The Two Powers", you'll understand who Kira is. Kira is actually supposed to be me.(I am very in love with Merry.) I just wanted to get that across to you and, not that I'm mad or anything, I'm just tired of people putting me down in their reviews because of that.  
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Chapter 1: Guard Duty

It was a bright, sunny day in the Shire and Merry stood outside Brandy Hall saddling his pony. It had been four or five years since the War of the Ring and he had sworn his service to Rohan. Just recently he had been summoned by King Eomer to come serve several weeks of guard duty. Periodically, he would be summoned to come serve guard duty, but most of the time he was free to stay in the Shire with his friends an family. Pippin's service to Gondor was that same way.

Merry's wife Kira came outside to tell him good-bye. She walked down the steps of Brandy Hall , carrying their five-year-old daughter Meowyn. Kira as a beautiful woman with fair skin, blue eyes, and her brown hair was done in long, balking dreadlocks. Kira walked up to Merry and said, "Are you sure you've got everything you need, you're always forgetting something?"

"Don't worry, Kira, I'll be fine." Merry said.

"Daddy, do you really have to go?" Meowyn asked.

"I'm sorry, munchkin, but I have to. I'll only be gone a few weeks." Merry said softly.

"Bye, Merry, we're gonna miss you." Kira said.

"Bye." Merry said as he and Kira hugged and gave each other a kiss.

"Bye-bye, Daddy." Meowyn said.

"Bye, munchkin." Merry said, taking Meowyn into his arms and hugging her.

"Be careful." Kira said as Merry mounted his faithful pony.

"I will. Look after Pippin for me, he'll no doubt be getting into trouble as always." Merry said.

Kira smiled and nodded her head. Her and Meowyn watched and waved as Merry rode off over the green hills. As Meowyn ran back inside the house to play, Kira stayed there for a moment, watching Merry ride off until he was out of sight. As he disappeared from sight, a chill ran down Kira's spine, she had a bad feeling that something was going to happen. She had watched Merry ride off to Rohan countless times before, but something was different about this time, something just didn't feel right.


	2. Captured

Merrythehobbit, thank you for liking the first chappy!

Chapter 2: Captured

Merry rode leisurely along on his trusty, white pony. He had been traveling for four days now and was heading south from Bree, at which he had stopped for the night. He still had several days' travel until he made it to Edoras, Rohan. The stop at Bree had refreshed him and made him a bit more perky. Before that, he had gone nearly three days without a good ale or a descent meal. Today was a beautiful, sunny day and the air was clean and warm. He was just in a relatively good mood. As he rode along, he began thinking about Kira and Meowyn, Pippin, his home, his friends and family. It made him smile to think of that because he loved it all so dearly and it warmed his heart to see them happy.

As he rode through a small copse of trees, he heard a twig snap behind him. He pulled his pony to a stop and made it turn around.

"Is anyone there?" he called.

He heard nothing accept the faint twittering of birds in the treetops. He brushed it off as being a small animal or something, so he continued on. A few minutes later, he heard a bush rustle behind him.

"Who's there?" he called as he pulled his pony to a halt once more.

Still, no answer. Once again he continued on. A few minutes later, he heard a low growl come from behind a bush nearby. This made his pony jumpy and agitated.

"Show yourself." he called, his hand on the hilt of his sword just in case.

Suddenly, several Orcs leaped from the bushes and grabbed him off his pony before he could react, and he knew no more...

A/N: I know, short second chappy, but I'm building up to something...


	3. Nightmares

Merrythehobbit, Thanks for liking the second chappy!

Chapter 3: Nightmares

_Kira found herself in a strange place. She was in a wide valley, black mountains were around the edges of the valley, even the sand of the ground was black. She heard some faint growls and shouts coming from a distance. She ran towards them and saw a large group of Orcs all standing around something, growling, laughing, and shouting. Kira went closer and saw that they were beating Merry._

_"Merry!" she called._

_The Orcs looked up and one of them dragged Merry to the front of the group, holding him up by his hair. The Orc gave a cruel chuckle and smiled, showing his black, rotted teeth. He took his black knife from its scabbard and slashed Merry's throat open. Blood gushed from the wound and Merry gave a strangled cry before falling to he ground, gasping and choking as he bled out._

_"MERRY!!!!!" Kira screamed..._

_----------------------------------_

Kira gasped and sat up quickly, looking around, wide-eyed. She was soaked with sweat and was shaking. She calmed down a little as the reality settled upon her shoulders that the horrific scene she had just witnessed had been a dream...no, not a dream...a nightmare. She wiped the sweat from her brow and moved the covers off her and walked over to the window. The night was relatively calm, but she had a bad feeling...something in her heart was telling her she needed to go look for Merry...he was in terrible danger.

As she stood there, she heard a faint knock at the door.

"Come in." she said.

The door opened and Meowyn walked in, carrying her favorite blanket with her.

"Mommy, what's happening? I heard you scream." Meowyn asked innocently.

"Everything's okay, baby." Kira said as Meowyn walked over to her.

"Can I sleep with you the rest of the night?" Meowyn asked.

"Sure." Kira answered as she picked up Meowyn and they walked over to the bed.


	4. Bad News

Chapter 4: Bad News

The next morning, Kira got up early and got packed. She took Meowyn over to Bag End where Frodo, Sam, Rosie, Elanor, and Uncle Bilbo lived so she could stay with them. She knew it was much too dangerous to take Meowyn along with her. After dropping off Meowyn at Bag End, she rode to Tuckborough where Pippin lived to tell him what was going on. She rode up in front of the house and tied her horse to a hitching post outside and walked up to the door and knocked on it.

"Who's there?" she heard a voice ask from inside.

"It's me, Pippin, let me in. It's an emergency!" Kira pleaded.

Pippin quickly opened the door and lat her in.

"What's going on?" he asked.

"There's something wrong with Merry." Kira answered.

"What? How do you know?" Pippin asked, getting concerned.

"I had a dream last night about Merry being captured by Orcs, and something tells me that we have to go find him as quickly as we can. I think he's hurt." Kira explained.

When it came to something like this, Pippin didn't have to be told twice, he got packed as quick as he could and he and Kira started off in search of Merry.

A/N: I'm sorry for another short chappy, but, as I told you before, I'm building up to something...


	5. Found

Hi, sorry it took so long to update.

Chapter 5: Found

The band of Orcs walked along through a small forest with Merry tied to his pony. One of the Orcs was leading the pony and Merry lay on its back unconscious. They had been moving like this for about two days.

Merry moaned and opened his eyes. He felt a sharp pain in his head and neck from laying like this for so long. He looked around and saw several Orcs.

"Hey, the runt's awkae!" one of them said.

The Orcs immediately stopped and dragged Merry off the pony and slapped the pony, rump to make it run away. They all began brutally beating Merry, showing no mercy. Merry cried out in pain and tried to get away, but they pulled him back.

--

Kira and Pippin galloped along on their horses, waisting as little time as possible. Kira was arrayed in an Elvish outfit. She was wearing tight, black pants, knee-high animal skin boots, a blood-red tunic with Elvish designs on the sleeves and breasts with a white underslip under the tunic. The tunic was spilt up to the groin for riding. She also wore brown leather gloves. She had her brown dreadlocks pulled back into a thick ponytail. Just then, Kira's keen, Elvish ears picked up a noise.

"Stop." she said, pulling her horse to a halt.

"What is it?" Pippin asked.

"I hear something." Kira said.

Just as she said that, Merry's pony came galloping over to them, very winded.

"It's Merry's pony!" Pippin said, surprised.

Kira dismounted her horse and grabbed the pony's reigns.

"Look!" Pippin said, pointing to a red smudge on the pony's side.

Kira carefully looked at and around the red liquid and found no sign that the pony was hurt.

"Someone must've been riding the pony and was bleeding." Kira said.

"Merry." Pippin whispered in horror.

"Come on, let's get going." Kira said, mounting her stallion.

--

They rode for a few more minutes until they came to a small forest. Kira and Pippin came to a halt a little ways into the forest because Kira heard something. They tied their horses to a tree and carefully sneaked around behind some bushes. Kira peeped over the top of the bush and saw a group of Orcs in a clearing, beating Merry.

"What do you see?" Pippin whispered.

"It's Orcs; they have Merry and they're beating him." Kira said, "Get your sword ready." Kira said.

She and Pippin drew their swords and gave one another a nod when they were ready. They gave a battle cry and jumped out from behind the bushes and slaughtered the group of Orcs easily. When they were all dead, Kira and Pippin ran over to where Merry lay on his side on the ground. Kira knelt down next to him and turned him over gently.

"Merry!" she gasped when she saw him.

"K-Kira?" Merry asked.

"Easy. Just take it easy, Merry; you're gonna be all right." Kira said.

"How badly is he hurt?" Pippin asked, trying to fight back tears at seeing his Merry in this condition.

Almost immediately, Kira spotted a large, deep gash on Merry's left side. The wound was bleeding profusely and Merry was having alot of trouble breathing. He was also very pale and his skin was cold.

"Pippin, run and bring the horses back over here." Kira said.

Pippin did as he was told.

"Get my water flask and some bandages and cloths out of my saddle bag." Kira instructed.

Pippin got the needed items from Kira's saddle bag and took them to her.

"Help me take his breastplate off." Kira said.

She and Pippin very carefully removed Merry's Rohirric-style breastplate and the green tunic that was under it. Kira wet one of the rags and gently cleaned Merry's wound. Merry cried out in pain when the cold water came into contact with his wound.

"Easy, Merry." Pippin said, stoking Merry's sweaty brow.

As Kira cleaned the wound, she noticed something odd. The flesh inside the wound seemed to have a black look to it.

"Poison." she whispered in horror.

"What?" Pippin asked.

"The blade that made this wound was drenched in poison." Kira said.

"Oh, no. Is he gonna be okay?" Pippin asked.

"I don't know, but we'll have to get him to Edoras with all speed." Kira said as she continues to clean and bandage Merry's wound.

When the wound was cleaned and bandaged, Kira put Merry's tunic back on him.

"Come, we must hurry if Merry is to survive." she said as she lifted Merry up into her arms.

She carefully sat him atop her horse and mounted behind him. Pippin tied Merry's breastplate to his horse behind the saddle and they took of towards Edoras.

A/N: The outfit I described Kira wearing was designed after an outfit an Elf on one of my LOTR video games was wearing.


	6. Worsening

Just in case you're wondering: The poison the Orcs used was not Morgul poison, like the Ring Wraiths used.

Chapter 6: Worsening

It was dark out and pouring down freezing rain. Kira, Pippin, and Merry galloped across the muddy plains on their horses. Pippin had tied Merry's pony to his horse and it was to come with them to Edoras. The darkness and the rain and the ominous, black clouds overhead seemed to weigh heavily on Merry. You see, in the dark people are more vulnerable to evil. Merry's skin was ashen, his breathing was uneven and raspy, and Kira could almost feel the large amount of poison pulsing through Merry's weakened body. Every now and then, Merry would cry out in pain as he was jostled around on the galloping horse.

As they rode through the pouring rain, the raindrops stung Pippin's face as they seemed to be coming straight at him rather than from above. It was almost impossible to keep his eyes open. Kira, on the other hand was wide-eyed and alert. The stinging raindrops seemed to have no affect on her, as she was an Elf.

"Kira, we have to find somewhere to make camp! We can't go on like this!" Pippin called through the storm.

Kira pulled her horse to a halt and so did Pippin.

"Where are we gonna go?" Kira asked.

Pippin looked around and he saw thought he could see a dim light on the other side of a hill.

"Let's go see what that is." he said, kicking his horse into a run.

Kira followed him to the top of the hill and they saw a small, dimly-lit village of simple, wooden houses.

"Wanna try down there?" Pippin asked.

"Sure, maybe they have an inn." Kira said.

They rode down the hill to the wet, muddy streets of the village. There were a few people walking the streets.

"Wait a second, Pip." Kira said, pulling her horse to a halt in front of a small building.

There was an old man sitting in a rocking chair on the porch of the building.

"Sir, is there an inn in this village?" Kira asked.

"Sure is. Just go to the end of this street and it's on the left." the old man said, pointing down the street.

"Thank you." Kira said.

"You're very welcome, miss." the man said.

Kira and Pippin rode down to the end of the street, ad, just like the old man said, there was a large inn called the _Burning Man_. Kira and Pippin tied their horses to a hitching post outside and Kira carefully got Merry down from her horse and wrapped him in her cloak. They entered the inn and it was fairly busy.

"Escuse me." Kira said as she walked up to the bar.

The barman walked over to her, wiping a pint off with a rag.

"Yes, ma'am, what can I do for you?" he asked kindly.

"We would like a room, please." Kira said.

"Come right this way." the barman said, leading them up the stairs.

"I hope this will be all right." he said, opening the door to a room.

The room was rather large. There was a fireplace, three beds, a sturdy oak table with four chairs around it, and a large window to see out.

"This will be fine." Kira said, stepping in.

She layed Merry down on one of the beds, "You wouldn't happen to have a Healer in this village, would you?"

"Sorry, ma'am, but no. The nearest one, I figure, is way over in Edoras." the barman said, "Your friend sick?"

"He's my husband, and he was attacked by Orcs." Kira said, sitting on the edge of Merry's bed.

"Oh, I'm very sorry." the barman said.

"Do you know how far it is to Edoras?" Pippin asked.

"Oh, I figure it's about 50 or 60 miles." the barman answered.

"That's probably a four-day ride." Pippin said.

"I sure hope Merry can make it that long." Kira said.

"Could I interest either of you in a hot meal or an ale?" the barman asked.

"That sounds great." Kira said.

"Good, I'll fix it and bring it up here if you like." the barman said.

"That'll be fine." Kira said.

"Yes, ma'am." the barman said as he left.

--

Kira took Merry's wet clothes off him and wrapped him in a warm blanket.

"Pippin, could you get a fire going?" she asked.

"Sure." Pippin said as he left to get firewood from the shed beside the inn.

He returned a few minutes later with an armload of wood. He had a warm fire going in no time. Just as he lit the fire, they heard a knock at the door.

"Come in." Pippin called.

The door open and the barman entered carrying two plates of food and two pints of ale.

"Here you go." he said, sitting it on the table, "Is there anything else you will be needing, ma'am?" he asked.

"If it's not too much trouble, could you bring me a bowl of cool water and some clean rags?" Kira asked.

"Certainly." the barman said as he left.

"Pippin, could you go get my saddle bag off my horse outside?" Kira asked.

"Sure." Pippin said as he got up from warming his hands by the fire.

Both Pippin and the barman returned within a few minutes.

"Here you go, ma'am." the barman said as he set the bowl of water and rags on the samll table beside Merry's bed.

"Thank you." Kira said.

"Is there anything else you will require, ma'am." the barman asked.

"No, that's all." Kira answered.

The barman nodded and left. Kira dunked one of the rags in the water and wiped it across Merry's fevered brow.

"He doesn't look so good." Pippin said as he walked over.

"I know, but we're doing everything we can for him." Kira said.

In her heart, Kira prayed a silent prayer for her beloved Merry. She didn't know what she would do if she lost him...most likely die of a broken heart.


	7. Arriving at Edoras

Very sorry for taking soooo looooong to update. I've had a very irritating writer's block for this story.

Chapter 7: Arriving at Edoras

The next morning, Kira and Pippin woke up early and packed up, paid for their room, and set off for Edoras. The rain had let up a little bit, but the ground was still muddy and soggy. They weren't about to let a little rain stop them from getting Merry to Edoras. They rode about twenty miles the first day and tried their best to keep up that pace. Every day, Merry seemed to get worse and slip away a little bit more.

It was the third day of their journey from the small village and the rain picked up a little more by the hour. By nightfall, it was pouring harder than it had been the night they arrived in the village. Even for Kira, it was hard to see, but they pushed on, knowing Edoras couldn't be far off. They rode and rode until they saw a dim light over a hill in the distance. _Please let that be Edoras, _Kira prayed. They rode up over the hill and sure enough, it was Edoras. They recognized it distinctly by the Golden Hall at the top of the hill.

"Oh, praise Eldar!" Pippin rejoiced.

They both kicked their horses into a gallop and rode up to the high, locked and guarded wooden gate.

"Who goes there?!" the guard called down to them.

"Lady Kira and Master Peregrin of Gondor. We have Master Meriadoc. Please let us in, he's badly wounded!" Kira called up to them.

"Open the gate!" the guard called to the soldiers below.

The gate opened and Kira and Pippin rode up to the Golden Hall of Meduseld. Two soldiers came forward and took their horses to the stables. Kira carried Merry in her arms up the muddy pathway and up the slippery stone steps to the large oak doors. Upon seeing Merry, the guards immediately opened the doors.

Sitting at the opposite end of the hall was King Eomer on his throne and Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli, who had come for a visit as they did frequently. They all looked up when they heard the doors open and were surprised to see Kira and Pippin run in. They were even more surprised to see Kira carrying a very pale and sickly Merry in her arms. Aragorn stood up and ran over to them, concerned.

"What happened?!" he asked.

"P-please...help him." was all Kira could say while trying to gasp for breath.

Aragorn took Merry from Kira and took him to one of the many bedrooms. Kira, still gasping for breath, collapsed right there in the middle of the main hallway. The last thing she remembered was Legolas and Gimli bending over her and being lifted into Legolas's arms...

A/N: I'm sorry for yet ANOTHER short chappy. cowers in fear in the corner Please don't hit me! LOL!


	8. Hopeful Healing

Thanks for the good reviews!

Chapter 8: Hopeful Healing

Kira groggily opened her eyes and saw Legolas sitting beside her bed. She felt clean and refreshed. The bed beneath her was very soft and the blankets were warm.

"Legolas?" she asked.

Legolas's eyes darted over to her and he took her hand.

"How do you feel?" he asked.

"All right." Kira answered, "Where's Merry?"

"He's in a room down the hall." Legolas answered.

"How is he?" Kira asked.

"The last I checked, he wasn't doing too well." Legolas answered.

"Could I go see him?" Kira asked.

"Of course." Legolas answered.

Kira got dress in a pair of skin-tight, black pants, knee-high, brown animal skin boots, and a loose, white tunic. Legolas lead her to Merry's room. When they entered, they saw Pippin sitting in a chair beside Merry's bed, holding his hand and Aragorn sat in a chair at the foot of the bed. Merry was very pale and his breathing was very labored. Kira couldn't help but try to stiffle a gasp. When Pippin heard her slight gasp, he looked around. He immediately stood up and let her sit down. Kira slowly walked over to Merry, her eyes transfixed on is pale, still face. She sat down on the short, backless chair and carefully, so as not to disturb him, slid her hand under his, which was laying on the bed at his side. She layed her other hand on top of his.

"Oh, my Merry..." Kira said, her eyes starting to burn from holding back tears.

Aragorn stood up and walked over and placed a hand on her shoulder as a gesture of comfort. Kira couldn't contain herself any longer; she hung her head and let the tears fall. Aragorn knelt down beside her and wrapped his arms around her shoulders.

"It's all right to shed a few tears; it cleases the soul." he said.

"I-is he gonna make it?" she asked, her voice choked with tears.

"We really can't tell right now, but he's strong, I have a feeling that he'll pull through." Aragorn said.

--

It had been a week since they had arrived at Edoras and it was a very lucky thing that Aragorn had been there. They nearly lost Merry that night a week ago and Aragorn was the only one who could have saved him. Merry was in sort of a comatose state; he was semi-unconscious. Sometimes he would be sound asleep, other times his sleep would be haunted by nightmares and he would toss and turn and mutter in his sleep. Merry had been in this comatose state ever since they had arrived in Edoras and Kira and Pippin had not left his side. They slept on pallets on the floor and Merry slept on a short bed in the corner. Many night, Aragorn would go into heir room to check on Merry and he would find Kira kneeling beside his bed with her head layed on the edge of the bed, asleep; bless her heart.

Aragor stepped into Merry's room and saw Kira sitting on the short chair beside Merry's bed, holding his hand. Pippin was asleep on his pallet at the foot of Merry's bed; he had not gotten much sleep the previous night and he was very tired. Aragorn walked over and put his hand on Kira's shoulder.

"How is he?" he asked.

"I haven't noticed any change." Kira answered without looking up.

"Well, I think he's looking a little better." Aragorn said, noticing there was a little color back in Merry's face.

Since Merry's raging fever had dropped a little in the past few days, that was a sign he was starting to recover. Aragorn pulled over a chair and sat down. After looking at Kira a few minutes, he noticed something strange.

"You're looking a little pale." he said, rubbing the backs of his fingers down her cheek.

"I'm fine." Kira said.

"There's just been too much going on and you've been cooped up in here for a week." Aragorn said, "You need to feel the sunshine again."

Aragorn had seen this happen before: An Elf confined to a room without seeing the sunshine or being close their sacred nature and dark thoughts enter their mind they are sad because they are loosing a loved one or something of that nature. Aragorn knew that if this kept up, Kira could slowly slip away. There was a short pause, then Aragorn got an idea.

"You know, the Caravan is coming through here today. You could go check it out." he said.

The Caravan was a large group of traders nd wagons traveling all around Middle-Earth, selling and trading different items and such. They had furs, many different types of food, and all kinds of things from all over Middle-Earth. It was almost impossible to tell what they would have next.

"Oh, but I can't leave Merry." Kira protested.

"Don't worry, we'll take good care of him. You need to get out and refresh yourself." Aragorn said.

"Well...all right." Kira agreed.

"Fine, fine. You just go get ready and I'll send a soldier along with you for protection, not that a woman like you would need a guard for protection, but it's better to be safe than sorry." Aragorn said.

Kira smiled and nodded and went off to get ready.


	9. Surprises

Hi, I am soooo sory it took sooooo long to update. I've just been busy with a bunch of stuff lately. Anyway, on with the chapter and a happy new year!

Chapter 9: Surprises

The Caravan was stationed about five miles away from Edoras just outside a small village. One of the captains of the Riddermark, Captain Nimrod, went with Kira with orders to protect her. Aragorn had convinced Pippin to go with them, saying it would be good for him to get out, too. They got there in a little over half an hour and when they did, it was a sight to see. There was a long line of wagons, some were covered wagons, some weren't. The line of wagons was at least a half mile long. The townspeople bustled here and there and there were many people with the Caravan; sometimes there were five people to a wagon. From their position atop the hill, they got a spectacular view of the whole thing.

"Well, what do you have to make of that?" Nimrod asked.

"I've heard of it, but I never thought I'd actually see it." Kira said in amazement.

"I'd never even heard of it until now." Pippin said in awe.

They rode down the hill and tied their horses to a hitching post outside an inn in the village and walked to the start of the Caravan. Kira and Pippin were amazed by the Caravan; the different wagons had a very wide array of items on them for sale such as food, ale, clothing, weapons, livestock, and a few even had armor. Some of the people had small stands set up beside their wagon to sell their wares, others sold directly from the back of their wagon. The thing that caught Pippin's eye first was a wagon that sold finely forged swords.

"Kira, isn't this sword amazing?" he asked, as he tested out one of the swords.

"Makes you look a proper soldier." Kira answered from the wagon right next to it.

The wagon right next to the one Pippin was at had caught Kira's attention. This wagon sold beautiful clothing from all over Middle-Earth. Right now she was looking at a Rohirric dress that she greatly favored. It was made out of brown and tan buckskin and consisted of a brown dress that wen on first, then a tan dress that went over that that had an open front that you would wrap around your abdomen to secure it with a brown belt. The brown part of the dress came down to just above her knees and the tan part was only a little shorter. The brown part was also short-sleeved, while the tan part was sleeveless.

"What do you think?" Kira asked, holding the dress up in front of her.

"Very nice." Pippin answered, looking her up and down.

"I'll take it." Kira said, turning back to the owner of the wagon, "And the boots, too."

There was a pair of tan buckskin boots that went with the dress that Kira just loved. After Kira paid for the dress and the boots she placed them in her large brown bag that she had brought with her. She, Pippin, and Nimrod walked down the line a little, looking at the different things the people were selling. As they walked, they came to a wagon that was selling many different kinds of fruit and vegetables. Just as they passed the wagon, Kira spotted something. She saw a large box setting on the ground beside the stand outside the wagon. Inside the box were many large, orange fruits. Kira stepped back and knelt beside the box, picking up one of the fruits and smelling of it.

"Are these oranges fresh?" she asked the owner of the wagon.

"Just picked this morning." the owner answered.

_"Merry loved orange juice."_ Kira thought.

"I'll take five of them." she said.

"Excellent." the owner of the wagon said as Kira picked out five of the best-looking oranges.

"Thank you and have a nice day." the owner said as Kira paid for the oranges.

"No, thank _you_. Oranges are very hard to come by in Rohan." Kira said, putting the oranges in her bag.

After spending much of the day at the Caravan, Kira, Pippin, and Nimrod decided to head back to Edoras before it got dark. It took them about the same amount of time to get back as it did to get there. When they got back, they put their horses in the stable and walked back to the Golden Hall. Kira rushed to Merry's room and was surprised when they opened the door. She saw Merry sitting up in bed, awake and alert. Aragorn sat at his side.

"Merry! You're awake!" Kira rejoyced, rushing over to him and sitting on the edge of the bed.

Merry and Kira embraced one another, squeezing each other tightly, not ever wanting to let go.

"He woke up not long after you left." Aragorn said, smiling.

"Did you have fun at the Caravan?" Merry asked.

"How did you know that's where we went?" Kira asked.

"Aragorn told me." Merry answered.

"Oh." Kira said, "We had alot of fun."

"Did you get anything?" Merry asked.

"Yeah. I got you something, too." Kira said, looking through her bag.

She took out one of the oranges, holding it up proudly.

"Where did you find these?" Merry asked, his eyes wide with glee.

"There was a wagon that was selling them." Kira answered, "I knew how much you love orange juice, so I got you some."

"Oh, thank you." Merry said.

"I'll be right back." Aragorn said, getting up and leaving the room.

"I got this, too." Kira said, taking out the dress that she had bought.

"That should make you look very pretty." Merry said.

"Oh, so I'm not pretty now?" Kira asked, jokingly.

"That's not what I meant." Merry said, "I meant that it would make you look more pretty than you are now....if that's possible."

"Thank you. That's better." Kira said.

She layed the dress aside and reached into her bag once more. She took out a burlap back that was held closed by a tan draw-string at the top.

"Can you guess what this is?" Kira asked.

"I give up." Merry said.

Kira opened the bag and took out a large, whole mushroom.

"Harvested from the Shire." she said.

"Oh, thank you!" Merry said, "I love these!"

Kira laughed, "I knew you would."

Just then, Aragorn stepped back into the room. He set a tool to squeeze orange juice down on the bedside table along with four wooden cups.

"Oh, I can't wait to taste that stuff." Merry said excitedly.

Kira smiled and took out her small skinning knife. She cut one of the oranges in half and squeezed it's fresh juice into one of the cups and handed it to Merry.

"Mmmmm, that is so good!" Merry said, as he took a drink of the sweet juice.

Kira repeated the process with the other oranges and in no time, there was enough orange juice for everyone.

"Where's Pip?" Merry asked, taking another sip of his orange juice.

"He's outside trying out a new sword he got." Kira said, "I'll go get him."

Kira got up and stepped outside and followed a small pathway to a small training ground for the soldiers. She saw Pippin swinging his sword and hacking at a wooden poll as if it were an Orc.

"Woa, easy, tiger, you don't want to wear out the sword before you really get to use it." Kira said, leaning on the fence that was around the training ground.

Pippin stopped hacking at the poll and turned around to see Kira.

"This is a very good sword, you know." he said, walking over to her.

"Mmm." Kira said, looking at the sword, "Merry's awake."

"He is?" Pippin asked.

"Yeah, he was asking where you were." Kira answered.

Pippin hopped over the fence and he and Kira walked back to Merry's room.

"Hey, Pip." Merry said when they entered the room.

"Hey, Merry!" Pippin exclaimed, running over and giving Merry a big hug.

"While you two get over this joyful reunitement, I'm going to go put on my new dress." Kira said, picking up her dress.

She walked over behind a folding privacy screen on the other side of the room. The screen was made of a wood frame and the 'screen' was made of a thin, tan, paper-like material that was decorated with Rohirric designs. She took off her clothes and slipped into her new dress; it fit perfectly. The neckline dipped low and showed a bit of clevage, which she knew Merry would love. She then put on the boots that came with the dress.

"You ready to see it?" she asked before she stepped out from behind the screen.

"Come on out." Merry said.

Kira stepped out from behind the screen, smiling.

"What do you think?" she asked, turning around in a circle.

"I love it." Merry said.

"Very pretty." Pippin said.

"I don't want to say too much because you're my sister-in-law, but you look beautiful." Aragorn said.

"Thank you." Kira said, walking over to the bed.

As she walked over to the bed, Merry took a bite out of one of the big, juicy mushrooms Kira had bought at the Caravan.

"Just a second and I'll get you something to dip that in." Kira said, walking out of the room.

She returned in a few minutes with a good-sized bowl of a thick, white substance.

"What's that?" Merry asked.

"Ranch dressing." Kira answered, setting the bowl down on the bedside table.

"Just what the doctor ordered." Merry said, dipping his mushroom into the dressing.

All of them thought this was the perfect way to celebrate Merry's recovery: a cup of orange juice, mushrooms, and a big bowl of ranch dressing.


End file.
